Just Hair
by BlackNailedMiss
Summary: Sanzo takes a brush to Goku's wild mane of hair.


I wrote this after seeing a picture of a younger Goku with his hair tied up and re-watching the episode Fated Guys, I think... Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

SanzoGoku, and if you want it to be, a foursome with the 3monks and one Goku. Hehe.

Just Hair

By BLackNailedMiss

It was a mass of tousled and tangled brown hair. And no one in the temple wanted to tame it.

As soon as Goku was bathed and clothed, Sanzo gave no more heed to the kid's appearance. Hell, the monkey had a tendency to get dirty every thirty minutes, so why bother? He just could order one of the monks in the temple to go clean him if ever the need arises. They did bathe Goku, though reluctantly but it seems that no one was brave enough to take a comb to the monkey - no thanks to the time when the monks introduced a blade for shaving to Goku just a week after Sanzo found Goku. It was also that week that Goku's hair became a sight and instead of using shampoo (the same one that Genjo Sanzo used, because it was the only one available) that in a pious monk's point of view, just wasteful. So on that fateful day, they formed a huddle and discussed the fate of Son Goku's wild mane. They have come to a conclusion that shaving was the best possible solution. And so shave it was. They tried. Swear to Buddha, they tried.

It takes three monks to bathe Goku. The first monk would be the one to chase Goku all over the temple. If he was successful, the second monk would then take over. While the one who chased Goku all over the place tries to catch his breathe, the second monk would then try pulling the clothes off Goku and then steadying him - which was hard, considering the boy's strength. While monk#2 holds Goku, the third monk would pour a bucket over Goku, and unfortunately for the second monk he was also bound to get wet in this process. Once wet, the monkey will seem to calm down a little and once the second bucket filled with soap suds is poured over him, a bar of soap and a towel can be given to Goku and he'll take over but it was still combined with mischief. More often than not, the three monks plus one monkey ended up having a "bath" together.

Then the time comes when they have to rinse Goku's hair. It was during this that the monk who chased Goku had already regained his strength and is ready to join in the fray. The bottle of shampoo that the generous Genjo Sanzo provided for this activity would come into view. A third bucket would be poured over Goku (and everybody else who happens to be in range with Goku would be wet as well) and the shampoo would be squeezed. After which four eager hands would wash the hair while the remaining set of hands was assigned in holding the monkey down. The kid had hair issues, it seems.

It was a tiring and wet affair, bathing Goku.

The first time Goku was taken into the temple and was given a bath, Sanzo was there to watch. He ended up getting a bath as well, even though he already took one earlier that day. The following baths, he did not care to stand near them anymore. He'd watch from the windows or would rather not watch at all since he gets sprayed or hit with a bar of soap or worse, a wet towel whenever he was within sight. Anyway, all the monks could do was to wash Goku's hair, since combing the mane of tangled and messy hair was a task no one could take. The kid would flinch, would scream, kick and whine and do some mortal damage.

On that fateful day the monkey met the razor, the monks had ran out of shampoo and they were too afraid to sneak into Sanzo-sama's room to extract the product and considered it troublesome to use soap on Goku's hair. So they formed a huddle and decided that Goku would look a lot better bald. Well, not bald actually since they can't do anything about the hair around his limiter. Still, the lesser the hair, the better. Goku would shine brighter with his gold eyes, gold limiter and shiny head after the task, they told the kid. Goku's eyes widened and he looked quite spaced-out after that, probably conjuring the horrible vision in that tiny head of his. Silence means yes, the monks thought but once the razor came into view, all hell broke loose. The monks holding Goku down sported black eyes days after the incident. Thankfully, no blood was shed. Goku - who was butt-naked from then on was left on his own for two days after his escape from the razor. Apparently, Goku tried to run away from the monks as fast as he can and gave no heed to the need for clothes. This gave Sanzo a migraine that went on for the days that Goku refused to come down from the tree and put some clothes on. But when it was Sanzo himself who went to the famed peach tree to fetch Goku, the monkey complied. Thankfully, the monkey did not catch a cold from that show of his.

Sanzo looked at Goku who was on the floor, scribbling something on a piece of paper, which he will later learn was one of his documents. His hair was a total mess. It was full of tangles and ... twigs? Was that a rock? Was that a freaking lizard he just saw?!

Now he can see the problem up close. Goku did not want his hair touched because the monks weren't considerate of the monkey's feelings. Just brushing a comb through that mane carelessly would pull a great chunk out of Goku's scalp. While the rest of Goku was clean, his hair was still a mess.

Standing up from his place behind the table, he went to a closet to extract a rare item that nobody except him had ever seen or used.

"Na, Sanzo? Where are you going?" Always, the saru is worried of getting left behind, Sanzo mused.

Giving no reply and item in hand, he sat on his bed and motioned Goku to come to him.

"Oi, hurry. I'm too irritated with that head of yours already. It stinks and if I'm not mistaken, there're things in it."

As soon as Goku was within range, he grabbed the boy by the shoulders and yanked him down to sit between his legs with Goku's back turned to Sanzo.

"Whine, and I will hit you. Escape and I will shoot you. Understood?"

"Huh? What? What are you talking about San- hngh!" Goku's face twisted into discomfort as Sanzo, with a plain and chipped porcelain-handled brush in hand decided to begin with the ends of Goku's hair before proceeding into more 'treacherous' domain.

Holding a handful of hair tightly and slightly away from the scalp, Sanzo proceeded to brush gently yet efficiently. Whenever he encountered tangles, he would gently set the brush down beside him and both of his hands would set to work in removing the tangles. When the tangles were over and done with, he would pick up the brush again and continue.

After a while, Goku stopped flinching and his near-whines.

The golden eyes that were staring intently at nothing awhile ago were now drooping.

Sanzo's hands were gentle and the brushing motions were soothing. He decided he liked Sanzo like this. Whatever came over the monk, he was glad for it. He was feeling relaxed and warm and he didn't want the feeling to end though he was having a hard time. He was already feeling drowsy. He decided he liked his hair touched by Sanzo, and wondered briefly if it will be the same if their positions were reversed, with Goku combing Sanzo's hair.

Goku's hair was already free from tangles but Sanzo continued to brush his hair anyways, the action soothed his nerves. It always did. The brush was ancient. It once belonged to Koumyou Sanzo... or did it originally belong to him, since he was the one who kept it ever since? Brushing Koumyou's hair before sleeping was a ritual that he enjoyed once. After brushing his master's hair, he would proceed to braid it carefully and tying it with a simple broad string. It wasn't lace or a ribbon, nothing frilly or extravagant like that. Yet in the end, it always turned out graceful because he put so much effort into it or so it's what he'd like to think.

Dwelling upon it, the brush was really his. It definitely wasn't Koumyou's - he did not even touch the thing. Sanzo used it from time to time and until now, the reason for the presence of golden strands in the brush. It was one of those things that held fond memories, memories before the blood and the rain and the battered body of his master. He used it himself though in private but he'd be damned before he was caught brushing his hair – using a brush with a porcelain handle, of all things!

"Sanzo..." He had forgotten that Goku was a hyperactive kid with a severe case of ADD. "I'm getting sleepy..."

"Damn saru." In truth, Sanzo enjoyed brushing Goku's hair. He never thought that the kid had silky and clean hair, looking from afar. The mane was always unkempt and tangled. He was surprised he found only a couple of twigs in the Goku's hair.

There was a ribbon around the brush that served as a design or grip, Sanzo could no longer remember for what purpose it was. But now, it will serve its existence well, if Goku managed to keep his long hair intact throughout the entire day. Gathering the long strands of dark auburn with the brush, Sanzo tied the strip around Goku's hair and even managed a ribbon for effect. He gave the now-orderly mane one last stroke before kicking the monkey to wake him up.

"There you go, monkey. That's the last time I'm touching your hair. Mess it up and I'm the one who will shave that damn mop from your head. Got it?"

Goku touched his hair lightly, a stupid (but cute) smile on his face before turning those golden eyes into Sanzo's.

"Sankyu."

Goku's eyes glowed more and became bigger, what with the hair framing his face gone. His cheeks were also more prominent and he could see more of Goku - more of his face, more of his skin and more of his innocence as the monkey smiled up at him. And the ribbon peeping from behind his head made him look more adorable.

He looked at the brush in his hand that made this possible.

Brown entwined with golden strands. It reminded him of autumn, of golden leaves and tree barks. Of the setting sun touching the brown mountains before it disappears from the sky or of the rising sun touching yet again the mountains as it decides to touch the earth with its radiance.

Of Goku's hair and his heretic eyes...

Somehow, it was beautiful.

And damn it, it was just hair.

"Na, Sanzo, is there something wrong?" the saru had to ask.

Brought back from his musings, Sanzo turned his eyes to Goku, those sharp violets were now amused in his own Sanzo-way.

"Aa, I was expecting I'd catch a lizard from your hair, saru. I definitely saw one a while ago."

Goku's indignant cry bounded from the walls and echoed in his ears and for some reason, he didn't mind it at all. And for that same unidentifiable reason, he wouldn't mind combing the monkey's hair if it became a mess again – but of course, he'd deliver a few blows on that messy hair of his first.

END

I just finished reading Stigma... it's so lovely. The story and the art captivated me so much that I want to start writing fics for Stork and Tit... Kazuya Minekura's the greatest.


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